Railer Road Trip, First Away Game Against Eisenhower

[September 02, 2016]  By Benjamin Yount

LINCOLN – Lincoln high school football coach Matt Silkowski pushed his new mantra this week during practice: Focus on the little things.

“The little things turn into big things. They do matter,” Silkowski said after practice Wednesday.
The first year head coach had to stress that with his team after a 52-0 blow-out last week.

But Coach Silky, and his team calls him, said when you watch last week's Springfield High game you notice Lincoln did most of the little things right.

“Our kids were in the right spots, we just didn't make the plays,” coach said. “We're there. We know it. We were just a half-step too slow.”

Lincoln also didn't give-up any kick return touchdowns or commit any offside penalties.
Lincoln is entering Friday night's game with a few new wrinkles to the new offense Silkowski brought to town this year.

The Railers are running a spread offense and a much more aggressive three-man front defense.
Senior wide receiver KT Gouard said he spent his week working on the little things to crisp-up his routes and spread out the defenders.

“I like the spread offense,” Gouard said. “We just need to get our line on track so we can get our playmakers the ball.”

Lincoln's offense line has heart. Just not size.
The Railsplitters are consistently outweighed by the big, bruising teams in the Central State Eight.
Senior guard Zach Montcalm said the offensive line spent its week focusing on a violent first step, and taking the blocks to the defense.

“The line has been working on getting one yard on their side of the ball,” Montcalm said that'd open up the offense and allow Lincoln some breathing room to run or pass.

Taking a knee on the field.

The Railers face Decatur Eisenhower in Decatur Friday night.

The Panthers put up 28-points in a win over cross-town rival Decatur MacArthur last week.
Coach Silkowski says Eisenhower's senior quarterback Cayleb Dehority is a big, strong quarterback who can throw for a lot of yards.

“We are very impressed with Eisenhower. We have a lot of respect for those guys,” Solkowski admitted. “They have a lot of team speed. Obviously (Dehority) is a very good player.”
Silkowski said the Railers will have to gang tackle almost every single Decatur ball carrier.
As for his team, Silkowski said expect the Railers to run most of the game.

And continue to focus on those little things.
Lincoln High School kicks off against Decatur Eisenhower at 7 p.m. Friday night.